Zachary’s Story: Miracle Child Helps Win at Supreme Court

Ten-year-old Zachary Klopfenstein (in the striped shirt) was literally a miracle baby; a survivor of a partial-birth abortion. When Zachary was in his biological mother’s (a drug addict) womb, he was diagnosed with hydrocephalus and minimal cortex and he was condemned to die by the medical experts. So, on February 28, 1997 at 39 weeks gestation the day Zachary was to be born, with head likely visible, his skull was punctured and the fluid was drained, a late-term procedure the doctors presumed would result in Zachary’s death.

The doctors placed “comfort care only” orders for Zachary, which means no one was allowed to assist in reviving him: no oxygen, no respiratory assistance – they were ordered to just let him to die. The doctors did not even aspirate him after delivery, which is a standard practice for all newborns. Zachary refused to die. He survived that Friday night. He survived Saturday. He survived Sunday. Now Zachary continues to survive today, similarly active like other ten year-old boys. Free Market Foundation’s legal division, Liberty Legal Institute, filed a brief on behalf of Zachary in the Partial Birth Abortion case of Alberto R Gonzales v. Leroy Carhart, et al., before the U.S. Supreme Court, advocating a ban of this horrible procedure. Zachary and his mother were able to sit in the U.S. Supreme Courtroom to hear the oral arguments in this monumental case. His adoptive parents, brothers and sisters all share in the joy of his story of survival and the beauty of human life.

CLICK HERE to watch Zachary’s powerful video.

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Partial Birth Abortion

Washington, D.C.- April 18, 2007 marks a great victory for human life. On that day, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision in Alberto R. Gonzales v. Leroy Carhart, et al., allowing a nationwide ban on partial birth abortions. In a 5-4 ruling, the Court upheld the constitutionality of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush in 2003.

The Liberty Legal Institute filed an amicus brief on behalf of survivors of late term abortions. Kelly Shackelford, Chief Counsel of the Liberty Legal Institute, applauds the Court’s decision. “This is a great victory for life and a final blow to the barbarism of partial birth abortion.” Click Here to read the brief.